2012 - 2013 catalog - Delta College

Student Rights & Responsibilities
In joining the academic community, students enjoy the right of freedom
to learn and share the responsibility in exercising that freedom. Students
are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with standards which
are designed to perpetuate the educational purposes of the College.
The College has developed procedures and channels by which students
may have a fair and objective hearing for their grievances in regard to
academic evaluation, students' rights and privacy, and disciplinary action.
Students have the right of protection against prejudice, capricious
academic evaluation, or loss of personal rights and freedom. At the same
time, however, students are responsible for maintaining standards of
academic performance established for each course in which they are
enrolled and for following the rules of conduct established by the College.
Student Rights of Association and
Expression
A. Students are free to organize and join associations to promote their
common interests. In order to use College facilities and resources
and to request financial assistance, student groups are required to
register with the Student Engagement Office, submitting a statement
of purpose and a current list of officers or designated representatives.
Groups are also encouraged to choose a faculty or staff advisor to
assist them.
B. Students and student organizations are free to examine and discuss
all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly
and privately, including their views on issues of College policy.
C. Generally, students or student organizations may distribute written
material without prior approval. Hand-to-hand distribution shall be
permitted in areas of public passage (commons, hallways, sidewalks,
etc.), providing distribution does not interfere with normal College
activity or routine. Posting and other types of distribution shall be
limited to those places established by written College regulations.
For more information see “Public Information Posting Guilelines”
in this section.
D. Students and student organizations are free to invite speakers, to
hear any person, and to plan programs of their own choosing subject
only to those written requirements established by the College to
ensure proper scheduling and use of facilities.
E. No policy, procedure, or guideline of Delta College shall discriminate
on the basis of the political, social, or other opinions of students
individually or collectively.
F. No record will be kept by Delta College which reflects the lawful
political activities or beliefs of students, unless requested by the
student in writing. Information about a student's views, beliefs,
and/or political associations acquired by the faculty or other College
employees in the normal course of their work will be considered
confidential and will not be disclosed without the knowledge and
consent of the student unless under legal compulsion.
G. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to imply approval or
endorsement by Delta College of the views expressed by students
or student organizations.
H. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to relieve any person of
obligations under Regulations and Rules of Conduct.
Regulations and Rules of Conduct
I. Introduction
A. General Responsibility: Delta College has the responsibility to
adopt and enforce rules which are consistent with Delta College
goals and operations and to establish due process procedures in
disciplinary cases.
B. Authority to Establish Standards of Conduct: Standards of conduct
are established by rules of the College, as adopted by the Board
of Trustees, and made known through College publications or
by notices distributed or prominently posted on College Bulletin
Boards; and by laws of the United States, State of Michigan and
County of Bay (public laws).
Except in the case of interim or emergency rules as granted by
Michigan Public Act No. 26 of 1970, such regulations shall be
established and amended with the advice of the College Senate.
Final authority is through either the Delta College Board of Trustees
or the laws of the United States, State of Michigan, or County of
Bay.
C. Individual Responsibility: An individual having an institutional
relationship to Delta College (members of College community) is
automatically placed under the rules of the College. “Institutional
relationship to the College” means any connection of employment,
enrollment, or service existing between any person and Delta College.
As used herein, this phraseology is intended to prevent the
application of these rules to purely personal or social relationships
between or among students, faculty members, administration, or
staff members outside the College proper. It is therefore important
for all members of the College community to familiarize themselves
with the rules and regulations affecting them.
D. Effect of Violating Rules: A member of the College community
violating any of the rules of the College or a public law, on- Campus
or off-Campus, at a Delta College-sponsored activity, is subject to
disciplinary action by Delta College that is appropriate to the nature
of the offense. Such disciplinary action will be taken in accordance
with the procedures governing cases of violations as outlined in the
Delta College judicial process. For more information see “Student
Violation of College Rules and Regulations” in this section.
E. Reports of Violations: Reporting of violations shall be within the
province of all members of the College community, because they
have a common responsibility in maintaining an orderly and efficient
community for their mutual benefit. Violations may fall in
one of several categories: 1. Minor offenses which are dealt with
by reprimand; 2. Violations by students which are to be reported
to the Office of the Vice President of Student Services; 3. Violations
by faculty or staff members which are to be reported to the Office
of the President; and 4. Civil or criminal violations which are to be
reported to the Department of Public Safety.
F. Severance Provision: If any of the foregoing rules or any part of
any such rule shall be adjudged invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, then such adjudication shall not affect the validity of
these rules as a whole or any provision or part of any such rules
not so adjudged invalid.
II. Rules and Regulations
A. Physical Force: No member of the College community shall use
physical force, threaten physical force, or use intimidation against
any person engaged in an activity properly undertaken as part
of an institutional relationship of the College except as permitted
under normal law enforcement procedures.
B. Disruption: No member of the College community shall interfere
with a College function by depriving any person of needed safety,
quiet, or other physical conditions of work or study.
C. Interference: No member of the College community shall interfere
with the free movement of any person engaged in an activity
properly undertaken as part of an institutional relationship to the
College.
D. Compliance: In keeping with the system of voluntary compliance
that underlies the College Regulations and Rules of Conduct, no
member of the College community shall fail to follow the reasonable
424 Delta College 2012-2013